PR Newswire: Schatz & Nobel, P.C. Announces Class Action Lawsuit Against Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and the Shell Transport and Trading Company, PLC.
February 18, 2004 8:58pm
HARTFORD, Conn., Feb. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- A lawsuit seeking class action status has been filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on behalf of all persons who purchased the publicly traded securities of Royal Dutch Petroleum Company (NYSE: RD) ("Royal Dutch") and/or The Shell Transport and Trading Company, PLC (NYSE: SC) ("Shell Transport") (collectively "Royal Dutch/Shell" or the "Company") from December 3, 1999 through January 9, 2004, inclusive (the "Class Period").
Plaintiffs are represented by the law firm of Schatz & Nobel, P.C., which has significant experience prosecuting class actions on behalf of investors. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions, please contact attorneys Andrew M. Schatz or Nancy A. Kulesa at (800) 797-5499, or by e-mail at sn06106@aol.com. For more information about Schatz & Nobel, P.C. and class action cases, please visit our website: www.snlaw.net.
The Complaint alleges that Royal Dutch/Shell and certain of its officers and directors issued materially false and misleading statements. Specifically, defendants classified and reported, in SEC filings and other public documents, certain oil and gas reserves from a project called the Gorgon Joint Venture in Australia and from various projects in Nigeria as "proved reserves". Unbeknownst to investors, such projects did not meet the SEC or industry standards required to be classified as "proved". Plaintiff further alleges that these material misrepresentations artificially inflated the price of Royal Dutch/Shell during the Class Period.
On January 9, 2004, Royal Dutch/Shell announced that it would write down its "proved" oil and gas reserves by 20%. On this news, Royal Dutch Shell ADRs fell 7.87% from $52.76 to $48.61 and Shell Transport ADRs fell 6.96% from $44.81 to $41.69.
Plaintiffs seek to recover damages on behalf of all Class Members. If you purchased or otherwise acquired Royal Dutch/Shell from December 3, 1999 through January 9, 2004 inclusive, and wish to act as a lead plaintiff, you may move the Court to act in that capacity not later than March 26, 2004. If you wish to discuss your rights as lead plaintiff or as a class member, please contact Schatz & Nobel, P.C. toll-free at (800) 797-5499, or by e-mail at sn06106@aol.com.
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